Juvenile bill sanctioned by House

New Delhi: On Tuesday, the parliament passed the juvenile justice bill, a day after members cutting across party lines concurred that the important legislation should be commenced immediately.

Those between 16 and 18 years of age should be considered as adults for heinous offences as provided by the bill. Also, anyone between the age of 16 and 18 who perpetrates a less serious offence may be tried as an adult if he is apprehended after he attains the age of 21.

· Could face imprisonment up to 7 years but won’t get life sentence or death penalty

· Juvenile Justice Board to decide if every accused minor should be tried under Juvenile Justice Act or in regular trial court

· Juveniles convicted under the regular justice system cannot contest polls and are ineligible for government jobs

· Corporal punishment has been made an offence and is punishable between 6 months and 3 years in jail

· Employing a child for begging will invite up to 10 years in jail

· Use of children by militants will carry up to 7 years in jail

Currently, a juvenile incriminated (under 18 years) is tried by the Juvenile Justice Board and if convicted, sent to a reform home for a period of maximum 3 years ( as in the case of Nirbhaya gang rape and the recently-released convict).

On Tuesday, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said a custodial institution for young offenders would be set up as per the proposed law to house juveniles accused of horrendous crimes. The existing law emboldened the juvenile crime, she said.

“Juvenile’s crime is increasing at a rapid speed. Children walk into police stations saying we have murdered, send us to a juvenile home.”

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said there should be a seperate place for the juvenile convicts and they should not be kept in jail with “hardened criminals”.

M. Venkaiah Naidu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that the bill has been listed several times by the government in the monsoon season as well as the winter season, but it could not be taken up. The law will not be applicable on the rape convict who has already been released.

However, none of the notices to send the bill to a house panel were presented to Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechurycalled it an emotional move and questioned, ” if a 15-year or 11-months old commits a crime will the definition be changed again?”

Kurien, however, said there was no proposal to send the bill to a panel, after which members of the Left parties staged a walkout.

Indian students shout slogans as they hold placards demanding stringent punishment for rapists during a protest in New Delhi, India, April, 23, 2013. VOA

Oct 3, 2017: India completes 70 years of Independence, yet women of the country fight for their ‘right to live with dignity’. Our women are still not free from the clutches of societal customs. According to the media reports (2016-17), the National Commission for Women (NCW) received maximum complaints under this category, ahead of rape or molestation.

The NCW is a statutory body appointed to safeguard women’s rights. The highest number of complaints registered by NCW were 4,373 under the ‘right to live with dignity,’ followed by dowry harassment (1,752), disrespecting the modesty of a woman (946) and violence against women (943), reported IndiaTimes.

“The NCW is founded upon the recognition that in a patriarchal society, women face a far greater degree of vulnerability and, hence, any effort to reform any law cannot go against this well-evidenced fact and reality and now argue that men are equally if not more vulnerable than women,” All India Progressive Women’s Association secretary Kavita Krishnan said, reported PTI.

[bctt tweet=”As much as Right to live is a physical right, it is equally imperative to exercise a right to live with dignity. ” username=”NewsGramdotcom”]

Many a times police personals ask women inappropriate and insensitive questions during investigations. It is startling to see that NCW department has registered 3,963 complaints of police apathy, which also top the cases of molestation or dowry.

Often women are compelled to marry against their choice. Indian women grapple with the right to choice in marriage and forceful arranged marriages that dominate consensual marriages in the Indian society. NCW received 337 complaints about women wanting the right to choose their own spouses.

In the famous conflict between Maneka Gandhi and Union of India, she challenged her impounded passport in the apex court. Maneka was issued a passport on 1976, and within a week, the same was impounded because of the public interest. A writ petition was filed with the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of India gave a new light to Article 21 (III) by demonstrating that the right to live is not merely a physical right but encompasses the right to live with dignity as well.

As per the Article 21 of Indian Constitution:

No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.